BtVS season 1: Nightmares
Oct. 9th, 2008 07:02 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shapinglightI'm off to stay with ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
trepkos for the weekend early tomorrow morning and shan't be around online, as a consquence. Hope you all have a good one.
Before I go, since I watched Nightmares from BtVS season 1 the other day, I thought I'd better write a quick review before I forget everything about it.
Unlike the previous two, this one has the definite feel of an arc episode, thanks to the presence of the Master and the insufferable Anointed One. What an annoying little git! Already can't wait for Spike to come along and get rid of him.
Usually when episodes of TV shows introduce random small kids (who, weirdly, very often seem to be boys called Billy), it's a sign to the audience that this is one of those episodes where you just have to grit your teeth and get through it. However, Annoying One or not, this is not true of this episode, where Billy, the kid around whom the plot revolves, is quite sweet in fact - enough so that it's a pleasure to see him wake up and accuse the lowlife who put him in hospital.
However, the central plot with Billy is there IMO as a vehicle for lots of character development of Buffy and her friends, featuring as it does (thanks to Billy) their encounters with their worst fears. Of these, Buffy's is the darkest and most poignant as she first encounters her father, who tells her he and Joyce split up because of her, that she's a horrible disappointment and he doesn't love her. Obviously, she fears that her father doesn't really care about her, which, sadly, turns out to be true, though possibly at this stage Joss hadn't planned that it should. She also encounters the Master and is unable to fight him (at least, not alone), which turns out to be prophetic and sets the stage for Prophecy Girl two episodes later. In fact, it's not entirely clear to me if Buffy's dream at the beginning is a Billy-induced nightmare or a Slayer dream.
I'm also unclear whether Buffy getting vamped is Giles's nightmare or Buffy's, but I find it very poignant that Giles's worst nightmare is that Buffy should die. She means an awful lot to him, though he doesn't express it openly. For instance, standing over her grave, he talks about how much potential she had, which is not something he ever says to her in person. Very British, I suppose, though I think his fondness for her always does shine through.
In fact, after this re-watch, I'm inclined to say that Buffy's relationship with Giles is by far the most important in this season and the best-developed.
By contrast, both Willow's and Xander's nightmares are couched in comedic terms. Xander easily conquers his fears (are clowns really the stuff of his nightmares? What about vampires, or his parents?) and Willow's attempts to sing Madam Butterfly and horrible stagefright are teeth-grittingly embarrassing and hilarious at the same time. As for Cordy's nightmare - the bad hair and clothes and being made to join the chess-club - it sort of seems like poetic justice at this stage. Of course, the following episode will paint her in a somewhat different light.
Anyway, everything works out, but with the Master back in play and the big theme of conquering your fears introduced that will be so important in the season finale, the gear up the the end of the season starts here.
Trivial stuff
Still not missing Angel
Also, I remember hearing some people (not fans of the later seasons) saying how great it would be if the BtVS comic brought back a season 1 vibe (which I think it has actually) and how wonderful the show was back then, and thinking how silly that was. Re-watching these early episodes, though they've been so much better than I remember, I haven't changed my mind. I like that BtVS got all emotionally messy and complicated and that everyone was allowed to grow-up (not always with grace), and I realised that one of the main reasons why I've been enjoying these episodes so much is because I know what's to come.
Best line: No stand-outs, though Xander saying he'd be more scared of Nazis crawling over his face than of spiders is quite good.
Speaking of which, had to close my eyes during the spider scene. :Shudder:
trepkos for the weekend early tomorrow morning and shan't be around online, as a consquence. Hope you all have a good one. Before I go, since I watched Nightmares from BtVS season 1 the other day, I thought I'd better write a quick review before I forget everything about it.
Unlike the previous two, this one has the definite feel of an arc episode, thanks to the presence of the Master and the insufferable Anointed One. What an annoying little git! Already can't wait for Spike to come along and get rid of him.
Usually when episodes of TV shows introduce random small kids (who, weirdly, very often seem to be boys called Billy), it's a sign to the audience that this is one of those episodes where you just have to grit your teeth and get through it. However, Annoying One or not, this is not true of this episode, where Billy, the kid around whom the plot revolves, is quite sweet in fact - enough so that it's a pleasure to see him wake up and accuse the lowlife who put him in hospital.
However, the central plot with Billy is there IMO as a vehicle for lots of character development of Buffy and her friends, featuring as it does (thanks to Billy) their encounters with their worst fears. Of these, Buffy's is the darkest and most poignant as she first encounters her father, who tells her he and Joyce split up because of her, that she's a horrible disappointment and he doesn't love her. Obviously, she fears that her father doesn't really care about her, which, sadly, turns out to be true, though possibly at this stage Joss hadn't planned that it should. She also encounters the Master and is unable to fight him (at least, not alone), which turns out to be prophetic and sets the stage for Prophecy Girl two episodes later. In fact, it's not entirely clear to me if Buffy's dream at the beginning is a Billy-induced nightmare or a Slayer dream.
I'm also unclear whether Buffy getting vamped is Giles's nightmare or Buffy's, but I find it very poignant that Giles's worst nightmare is that Buffy should die. She means an awful lot to him, though he doesn't express it openly. For instance, standing over her grave, he talks about how much potential she had, which is not something he ever says to her in person. Very British, I suppose, though I think his fondness for her always does shine through.
In fact, after this re-watch, I'm inclined to say that Buffy's relationship with Giles is by far the most important in this season and the best-developed.
By contrast, both Willow's and Xander's nightmares are couched in comedic terms. Xander easily conquers his fears (are clowns really the stuff of his nightmares? What about vampires, or his parents?) and Willow's attempts to sing Madam Butterfly and horrible stagefright are teeth-grittingly embarrassing and hilarious at the same time. As for Cordy's nightmare - the bad hair and clothes and being made to join the chess-club - it sort of seems like poetic justice at this stage. Of course, the following episode will paint her in a somewhat different light.
Anyway, everything works out, but with the Master back in play and the big theme of conquering your fears introduced that will be so important in the season finale, the gear up the the end of the season starts here.
Trivial stuff
Still not missing Angel
Also, I remember hearing some people (not fans of the later seasons) saying how great it would be if the BtVS comic brought back a season 1 vibe (which I think it has actually) and how wonderful the show was back then, and thinking how silly that was. Re-watching these early episodes, though they've been so much better than I remember, I haven't changed my mind. I like that BtVS got all emotionally messy and complicated and that everyone was allowed to grow-up (not always with grace), and I realised that one of the main reasons why I've been enjoying these episodes so much is because I know what's to come.
Best line: No stand-outs, though Xander saying he'd be more scared of Nazis crawling over his face than of spiders is quite good.
Speaking of which, had to close my eyes during the spider scene. :Shudder:
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no subject
Date: 2008-10-09 06:40 pm (UTC)it took me a minute to remember which episode you were talking about, vs the thing at the end of s4 after the big bad was dead and they were all in a coma or something? weirdest, anticlimacticest finale ever.
I like that BtVS got all emotionally messy and complicated and that everyone was allowed to grow-up (not always with grace)
ITA. I know a camp of people in real life who despised the later episodes, but I love that they all were allowed to fuck up and become people we didn't necessarily like, at one point or another. only to be brought back to themselves by friendship...which is all you can really hang on to, sometimes. especially in those late-teens-early-twenties formative years.
no subject
Date: 2008-10-09 07:30 pm (UTC)Clearly you have not been watching The Sarah Jane Adventures! (I have, with the kids. It's very nice, and rather well-written for children's TV, but...)
I realised that one of the main reasons why I've been enjoying these episodes so much is because I know what's to come.
*nods* Same here. Partly because it all plays out so slowly that we're seldom aware of them actually growing, but when you look back you can see the development. *deep sigh* I miss my show. (s8 is worse than nothing. ::grumbles::)
no subject
Date: 2008-10-09 07:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-09 07:54 pm (UTC)So I finally watched the season 1 episode "Puppet Show" - which I never saw before and now I can go back and read your review of it. (Not that I went out and got the DVD just so I could read your review, but your review reminded me I had it sitting around unwatched.)
And I thought: Wow. First Season.
Giles was HAWT.
Uh, I mean, he's still smouldering in the other seasons, but gosh he was lickable in first season.
And second.
And...
Okay. I thought it was a little cute how obviously they hadn't hit their stride yet, and weren't sure how scary or how funny to be. The action scenes were a little clunky and no high school in the United States would allow a girl to go to school wearing what Buffy wears. Seriously. Is that a dress or a shirt?
But I thought of "Nightmares" when they did the skit at the end - you know, what with Willow on stage and we all asked, "Wait, isn't she scared to death of that? Was the stagefright nightmare episode before or after this?" We all agreed that Allison Hanagan's performance was endearing.
no subject
Date: 2008-10-09 08:47 pm (UTC)Well, according to JM in a recent interview for SFX magazine, Angel wa always Greenwalt's character, not Joss's - and though JM says some odd things sometimes, that has the ring of truth to me.
I don't think Joss wanted any sexy, romantic vampires in the show. That wasn't what it was about in his eyes. Angel was around in spite of him, not because of him.
Of course, he figured out what to do with him in season 2, and it worked very well.
weirdest, anticlimacticest finale ever.
You mean Restless? I love that episode. It's probably the most discussed BtVS episode ever because people were convinced at the time that it was all Deeply Meaningful and full of Foreshadowing, when as it turns out, according to Joss on the DVD episode commentary, it was just supposed to be like dreams usually are - basically a load of surreal old bollocks.
I know a camp of people in real life who despised the later episodes,
Silly lot.
no subject
Date: 2008-10-09 08:48 pm (UTC)Oh yes, it's very organic, which is why it's so bizarre to see them all take a big step backwards the way they seem to have done in season 8.
no subject
Date: 2008-10-09 08:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-09 08:51 pm (UTC)Giles was HAWT.
Oh boy, wasn't he just!
and no high school in the United States would allow a girl to go to school wearing what Buffy wears. Seriously. Is that a dress or a shirt?
I'm glad to hear that, because - damn! How on earth Joyce ever let her out of the house dressed like that, I'll never know.
The stagefright nightmare was after the talent show thing. Obviously, poor Willow must have still been traumatised.
no subject
Date: 2008-10-09 08:51 pm (UTC)Nightmares wasn't a bad episode, and on reflection, did interduce a lot of themes picked up on later! Season One does improve on later viewing, I agree!
no subject
Date: 2008-10-09 08:52 pm (UTC)It does, doesn't it, which is nice. I thought it might all just seem horribly clunky.
no subject
Date: 2008-10-09 09:00 pm (UTC)that's the explanation that has my vote, haha. it's not altogether horrible but it bugs me for some reason.
no subject
Date: 2008-10-09 11:13 pm (UTC)I think it works for either of them, but I tend to see it as Buffy's nightmare, first because of her reaction when she turns away from the others upon realizing that she's a vampire, and also because I think it would be impossible for her not to fear becoming the thing she hunts.
I like that BtVS got all emotionally messy and complicated and that everyone was allowed to grow-up (not always with grace), and I realised that one of the main reasons why I've been enjoying these episodes so much is because I know what's to come.
I completely agree. I like the first season a lot, and there are several episodes in particular, like "The Pack" and "Prophecy Girl" that I think do a great job of establishing some of the themes of the series, but I can't imagine I would still be thinking about the show all these years later if it weren't for those messy later seasons.
no subject
Date: 2008-10-14 10:48 am (UTC)I quite like it, though less so than I did, and mainly because of the First Slayer.
no subject
Date: 2008-10-14 11:03 am (UTC)I think it works for either of them, but I tend to see it as Buffy's nightmare, first because of her reaction when she turns away from the others upon realizing that she's a vampire, and also because I think it would be impossible for her not to fear becoming the thing she hunts.
You're probably right, though of course Giles would fear the idea of a Slayer turned vampire too, I should think.
but I can't imagine I would still be thinking about the show all these years later if it weren't for those messy later seasons
Me neither - and bizarrely, I don't think all the people who say they hate the later seasons (especially the last two) would be either. If all was sweetness and light the way they wanted it to have been, what would there be still to
bitch aboutdiscuss?